Deadman

[Dennis K]

The first comic I picked up that had Deadman in it was Hawkman #36, and I think he's a great character (obviously). Can somebody give me a brief history of the character and whether or not he has ever had his own title? Thanks.

[twilight]

Well from what I remember Deadman used to be a circus performer named Boston Brand.One night whilst performing on the high wire he was shot by an assasin and fell to the ground where he died.For some reason or another some god/deity thought it would be cool to bring him back to some semblance of life so he could get revenge but now he could posess peoples bodies.Boston/Deadman roamed around the country in his first series looking for the killer,fighting crime and solving mysteries and eventually found out the killer was dead making his whole quest useless and so the god let him stay on earth to balance out good and evil.

Deadman has probably had one or two series in the past but as of now has been retired to the guest star and mini series division.

[davids]

Revrend mckay had a nice talk with him about god! And a mysterous dead woman named Kara cherred him up when he was suffering the holiday blues.

[Cash Lone]

Deadman has had several series (ongoing + mini). Theres even a hardcover collected editon which has all the neal adams issues from the late 60's.

I would guess that deadman is one of the most popular "guest stars" in the DC universe (aside from Batman). He shows up in alot of other comics for an issue or two.

[marshal99]

U should get the deadman : dead again mini series which have deadman going through all the important deaths in the DCU like Barry Allen Flash death during the crisis , Jason todd as the 2nd Robin when he was killed by Joker , Superman's death after he fought with Doomsday , etc. I enjoyed the different perspective on those deaths.

[xhellfacex]

Has anyone read the Lost Souls trade? I was going to pick it up at the shop but wasn't sure about it. I loved the art drawn by.....???? the guy who drew the first Sandman (Gaiman) arc. Also, how about the Deadman series that came out a few years back with all the Mignola covers??? Was that series any good? I don't think its collected in any trades, is it? Questions.

[Captain Jim]

Personally, I didn't care for that "Dead Again" mini.

Deadman debuted in the late 1960's, I believe, in Strange Adventures, where he had his own strip. The art was beautiful stuff. I think Carmine Infantino may have done some, but the artist who really stands out was Neal Adams. For some reason I want to say the writer was Arnold Drake, but I'm not sure about that. Very, very good stuff, which has been collected at various times and places, and is definitely worth seeking out.

[Calamas]

This is the first time I can remember disagreeing with you, Captain. I thought “Dead Again” was great. Old school storytelling at its best. I felt the same way of issues one thru eight of the series that followed. The ninth and final issue was so cliché ridden that I have to believe that writer Steve Vance knew the title was cancelled and banged out the ending with little thought. I found it hard to believe it was written by the same guy.

All but that last issue is recommended.

[Dennis K]

I took the plunge today and bought the entire Dead Again series, as well as the Deadman: Exorcism two book set. I was also able to find the first nine issues of the monthly that began after Dead Again and was able to put them in my hold folder, so I can buy an issue or two each week depending on what other titles on my pull list have come in. On the one hand I was glad to discover that none of the Dead Again issues were more than $2.50, and the Exorcism books were only $4.95 apiece. I'm going to save Exorcism for last as the artwork is done by Kelley Jones, whose work I love, and seems at first glance, to be a perfect fit for the character.

[marshal99]

I thought dead again was very cool , not to mention the fact that some of the "deaths" scenes in the series are revisited by the same artists who drew them in the first place - Jim Aparo for the robin issue , MD Bright for the Hal in engine city against Mongul , it would have been cool if they have gotten Perez to do the Barry Allen sequence during crisis and Jurgens for the superman/doomsday fight.